Making Biopython SeqIO and AlignIO easier

One of the small changes coming in Biopython 1.54 (which you can try out already using the Biopython 1.54 beta) is to Bio.SeqIO and Bio.AlignIO. Previously the input and output functions had required file handles, but they will now also accept filenames.

This is a case of practicality beats purity (to quote the Zen of Python), and is particularly handy when doing very short scripts or working at the Python prompt.

For example, filtering a FASTA file to take only entries with a minimum length of 100 can be done like this (with handles):